PCryptoids

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

   A couple of cryptoids from PC Mag, 9-12-95:


   [Review excerpts] *Network Security, Private Communication 
in
   a Public World*, review by O. Ryan Tabibian

   The book is grouped into three parts: "Cryptography,'
   "Authentication," and "Electronic Mail." There is also a
   "Leftover" section, which covers security with popular
   network operating systems such as Microsoft Windows NT and
   NetWare.

   Most books fail to cover the difficult subject of
   cryptography effectively. *Network Security*, however,
   clearly describes the different cryptography methods --
   such as secret key, hashing, and public-key cryptography --
   as well as a variety of other technologies, including
   Diffie-Hellman and RSA.

   The second section, "Authentication," deals with how a
   system or persons you are communicating with can verify
   your identity. Verification schemes range from simple
   passwords to complex digital signatures. The authors do a
   remarkable job of describing and analyzing the variety of
   authentication methods.

   Since the majority of your access to the outside world is
   through e-mail, your messages are probably most vulnerable.
   The book covers some of the popular e-mail security
   schemes, such as public key and privacyenhanced mail. A
   brief overview of X.400 is also included.

   Overall this is perhaps the most comprehensive, yet
   easiest-to-understand book covering network security
   available.

   Network Security, Private Communication in a Public World,
   by Charlie Kaufman, Radia Perlman, and Mike Speciner,
   $46.00. Prentice Hall PTR, 800-947- 7700; ISBN:
   0-13-061466-1.

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   [Then, Bill Machrone muses on the utility of an electronic
   business cards. Excerpts:]

   Some of my correspondents want a magnetic stripe on the
   business card, pretty much like the one on your credit
   cards. Others want a bar code. Assuming that you don't use
   the back of your card for an alternative language, you've
   got several square inches back there, plenty of room for
   data.
             
   What will we use it for? The database stuff is the easy and
   obvious part. Since the computer industry and IS
   departments are likely to be the earliest adopters, it
   would be a simple matter to standardize on a format that
   the reader spits out for easy importation into just about
   anything. If the software and I/O devices are cheap enough,
   the rest of the world will come along -- and benefit.

   Authentication is a potentially huge application. In some
   South American countries, fraudulent representation is
   common. Crooks collect business cards from legitimate
   businesspeople and then misrepresent themselves to
   perpetrate a variety of scams. As a result, businesspeople
   commonly tear a corner of their card as they hand it to
   you. You don't trust a card that wasn't torn in front of
   you.

   A more elegant solution lies in a new Kodak technology that
   can encode your likeness in as little as 500 bytes,
   readable by your PDA, notebook, or desktop machines. You
   could also include a machine-readable version of your
   public encryption key, making it easy for people to send
   you secure communications.

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